Apologies for not being active the past couple of weeks, I had a family emergency and I was offline to take care of the situation. Now I’m slowly getting back into the swings of things, and on a positive note, I have many new articles and reviews to share. I missed connecting with you. So without further ado, let’s talk about skincare 🙂Beauty Heroes May box is an sensory experience with a brand coming all the way from Hawaii, namely Mahalo. This is the second collaboration between Beauty Heroes and Mahalo Skin, yet it remains very exciting.

The hero product:Mahalo Rare Indigo beauty balmIt’s my second jar of Indigo balm, so I’ve had enough time to properly use it and see the results on my face. If I had to pick a favorite product from Mahalo, it would be the Rare Indigo beauty balm, because it blew me away. When it comes to balms in general, a bunch of them comprise beeswax and shea butter which have a tendency to feel clogging on my skin if I use them for an extended period of time. To avoid any trouble, I mainly use balms during colder months, but I don’t have this issue with Rare Indigo, because its formula is quite unique, containing for example Murumuru butter and Babassu, which are both from the region of Amazon. Murumuru is emollient, high in essential fatty acids, and contributes in restoring elasiticity. It’s often used to heal psiorasis, exczema and dry skin. Babassu is has soothing properties and used to treat inflammations. Another plus is that is said to be non-comedogenic, which I something I do believe since I did not experience any breakouts by using the product. The balm is solid at room temperature, but melts on contact with skin. A little goes a long way; when you scoop out a tiny amount and rub it between your hands, it turns into an oily consistency, similar to a face oil. The rest of the ingredients are equally enticing: it contains some old favorites such as chamomille, yarrow, ylang ylang, lavender making the experience even more exquisite. Compared to the original Mahalo balm, Rare Indigo seems less rich, thus more suitable for combination to oily skin, at least that’s how I feel it.

In terms of skin benefits, it has been particularly efficient in calming inflammations and lower oxidation damage in stressed tissues. Environmental pollution, stress, fatigue, all these elements can affect the skin. I often feel my skin congested and tense, and to avoid resorting to Frownies prematurely, I’ve been turning to Mahalo’s Rare Indigo for help. Everytime I apply it on my face, I feel like the tension melts away. My face feels supple, soft, refreshed and looks glowing. I’ve been using it morning and evening. Little funny story: before going to the dermatologist, I put some Indigo Rare on my dad’s face because his face was quite dry and he looked a bit tired. During the doctor’s appointment, she complimented him on his glowing skin! It works like a charm I tell you 😉
Another win for me was the scent. This is obviously a matter of personal taste, some will love it, others won’t, but I’m very receptive to the aromatherapeutic benefits of its floral scent: inhaling the exquisite aroma it calms me down instantly. Rare Indigo feels very nurturing and comforting at the same time, it’s the perfect companion for stressed and problematic skin like mine. Why is it called Rare? Because it’s manufactured in small batches and the process is handmade. Maryna explained that the preparation for May’s beauty box started in January, from getting herbal infusions batched for maceration (Mahalo does it around cycles of the moon) to the crafting and filling of the jars. If you’re interested, Mahalo Skin Care posted a video on YouTube showcasing the fabrication process of the Rare Indigo balm (here).Ingredients: Cannabis sativa (hemp)*, astrocaryum murumuru*, orbignya oleifera (babassu)*, sclerocarya birrea (marula), vitis vinifera (grape seed)*, camellia japonica (tsubaki tea seed)*, aleurites moloccans (kukui)*, euterpe oleracea (acai)*, proprietary infusion of organic herbs*, polygonum tinctorium (indigo), rosa damascena*, matricaria chamomilla*, achillea millefolium (yarrow)*, helichrysum italicum*, cananga odorata (ylang ylang)*, citrus aurantium var. bergamia (bergamot fcf)*, lavandula angustifolia (lavender)*, boswellia carteri (frankincense)*, abelmoschus moschatus (ambrette hibiscus), ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10), daucus carota (carrot seed)*, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (vitamin C ester), non-gmo mixed tocopherols, vanilla planifolia, iris pallida *Clean ingredients: organic + local and/or wild harvested (when available) **Bergamot fcf* is free from bergapten – it has no photosensitizing effects
The Indigo balm in itself has a $110 value; without a doubt a luxurious and exotic skin treat and an investment but a lot of thoughts and work is put in that stunning blue jar. Even with international shipping ($18.95), the box remains a pretty awesome deal.

The sidekick: The Petal Mask (Petal to the metal)
I’m a sucker for face masks and they play a significant part in my beauty routine. I tend to favor dry masks mainly because I opt for formulas that tackle blemishes and draw out impurities, but Leahlani’s mermaid mask, Josh Rosebrook’s cacao mask, Herbivore Botanicals Blue Tansy mask, and a few more are the exceptions to the rule in my skincare cabinet (see my mask round-ups 1 & 2). The Petal is unique its genre, and decadent in every way. Ingredient-wise, it’s a head-turining blend, with 28 active ingredients. A “sophisticated blend” as described on the website, mixing clays, honey, hyaluronic acid, flower hydrosols, petals and essentials oils. Basically a flower bouquet in a face mask. Same goes for the texture, it’s described as a gel, but I’ve found the sample to be thicker, rather gooey and ”pudding-like” (which is not a bad thing in my book haha). Nevertheless, it spreads easily onto a freshly cleansed face which is what matters. I remove it with a soft flannel as I usually do with face masks to get rid of any residues. The scent: it is very strong (much more prevalent than Rare Indigo). It’s a clever idea that Beauty Heroes came up with a sample size because it’s more prudent to verify beforehand if the scent suits you or not, as we all have our preferences and sensitivities. Personally, I did enjoy the mask. I don’t have any particular issues with scents in general, unless they are very musky. The Petal is not strictly rose-scented, notes of bergamot, vanilla, jasmine silver and algae come through too. I’ve used it 3 times and I still have some product left. I haven’t noticed any major improvements, but when I rinse it off, I have no tight feeling, and my skin looks rosy and fresh. Would I purchase the full-size? Probably not for summer as I don’t feel the need for extra moisture, but I’d consider it for winter when I need a plumping mask to boost the skin.Ingredients: Raw honey blend* [mel (Hawaiian honey), leptospermum scoparium mel 15+ (manuka honey)], rosa damascena (rose hydrosol)*, amazonian white clay, sodium hyaluronate, rosa damascena (rose flowers)*, camellia japonica*, laminaria (algae)*, sylver hydrosol, sclerotium gum, rose clay, rosa damascena (rose oil)*, jasminum officinale (jasmine)*, calendula officinalis (calendula)*, artemisia pallens (davana), cananga odorata (ylang ylang)*, citrus aurantium var. bergamia (bergamot fcf)*, rosa centifolia (rose de mai)*, hibiscus sabdariffa (hibiscus)*, pelargonium graveolens (rose geranium)*, theobroma cacao (cocao absolute), vanilla planifolia (vanilla), santalum paniculatum (hawaiian sandalwood)*, curcuma longa (turmeric)*, lithospermum erythrochizon (gromwell), salix alba (white willow)*, cedrus atlantica (cedarwood atlas), tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (vitamin C ester). *clean ingredients: organic + local and/or wild harvested

Are you excited about May’s box? You can order it until the 20th of the month (here).

Take care,

Liz

*I’m a Beauty Heroes ambassador (see disclaimer), but all opinions are honest and my own